1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in retail checkout terminals, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of an apparatus and method for deactivating electronic article surveillance in a retail self-checkout terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is becoming increasingly common for purchasers of consumer goods to pay for the goods without the need for a human cashier. For example, motorists frequently purchase gasoline at self-service stations by inserting a credit card directly into a card reader on the pumping station. Such operation has a number of advantages. First, this arrangement saves on the number of persons required to maintain and run a business establishment. Second, it decreases the incidence of employee mistake or dishonesty. Third, the customer perceives that it decreases the amount of time required to complete a typical transaction.
It would be desirable to extend the self-checkout concept to include general retail merchandise. However, in such an environment, there would be an increased concern about theft and errors in the checkout process. In present retail security systems, it is known to affix an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag onto a retail item which triggers an alarm at the store exit if the tag is not deactivated. However, currently used security systems cannot be used in a self-checkout system because the current systems require a human cashier to ensure that the item has been properly paid for before the EAS tag is deactivated. Thus, there is a need for a security system that can be used in conjunction with a self-checkout terminal.
The present invention advantageously provides a retail self-checkout system and improvements thereto, as described in greater detail below. In a system according to the present invention, the items to be purchased are placed into an itemization area. An item detector detects the presence of the item in the itemization area, and a security checking system determines whether the item satisfies predetermined security criteria. If the item satisfies the security criteria, a deactivator deactivates an EAS security tag affixed on the item to be purchased.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.